Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-08-05
AFa5hia9tun Stanlara
The HOUSE ON THE MARSH;
THE MYSTERY OF THE ALDERS
CHAPTER TX.
BY yLoRENcD WARDxN.

CusdtlOuS against Nii. IA hci h'N NV
in the least shaken my faith in the kind
ness of the master of the Alders: but |
felt anxious to prove to myself that the
charges brought against him were
groundless. Mr.. Reade's suggestion
that he let his family sleep in the damp
house while he passed his nights else
where, for instance, was absurd in the
extreme. Where else could he sleep
without any ones knowing anything
about it? often heard his voice and
step about the house until quite late;
he was always one of the
first in the dining-room to our
eight o'clock breakfast, and even
the wettest mornings he never looked
Is if he had been out in the rain. 1t
often seems to me that when l have
puzzled myself long time over some
matter l find out in some simple man.
ner what l wish to know.
Thus the day after my talk with Mr..
Reade in the shop Haidee said to me:
''Do you ever have horrid dreams.
Miss Christie, which frighten you and
then come true?"
mo, darling; dreams are only
fancies, you know, and never continue,
except just by accident"
She went on gravely:
But mine do. I'll tell you about
one had two nights ago. if you'll bend
your head and let me whisper. You
won't tell. will your"
mo, darling. won't tell" said 1.
She put her little hand up to my
cheek, and, drawing down my face tt
hers, breathed into my ear in the very
faintest, softest whisper have evel
heard:
"You know that day when we tool
you up to your new room in the tur
rete"
Eyes, DEAR" said I.
Hush! Whisper" cooed she
"Well, that night Jane put me to bed
and then I went to sleep just like l al
ways do. And then l dreamed that
heard mamma screaming and crying
and papa speaking-oh, SO Different,
from the way he generally does;
made me frightened in my dream!
thought it was all real, and l tried t.
get out of bed; but l was too mucl
asleep; and when / woke up remem
bered it. I didn't tell anybody; AM
the next night I wondered If l shout,
have the dream again, and I didn'
want Jane to 20 away; and, when
said it was because I'd had q dream
she said dreams were stuff and non
sense, and she wanted to 60 and dream
at having supper. And then she wen
away, and l went to sleep. And the
Invoke up because mamma was cry
ing, and I thought at first it was m
dream again; but knocked my hea
against the rail of my bed, and then
knew must be awake. And 1 got OF
of bed, and went quite softly to tn
door and looked through the key-holt
for there was light in her room. Whe
she has light, can see in quite plair
" through the key-hole, and can &c
the bed and her lying in it. But sh
wasn't alone like she generally is
could see papa's hand holding the car
die, and he was talking to her in sue
low voice; but she was crying an
talking quite wildly and strangely s
that she frightened me. When sh
talks like that, l feel afraid-it doesn
seem as if she were mamma. An
then saw papa put something on h,
face, and mamma said: 'Don't--don'
Not that and then she only moane'
and then she was quite still, and
heard him 90 out of the room. An
presently called: Mamma, mamma
but she didn't answer; and I was I
frightened, l thought she was dea'
But then heard her sigh like she a
ways does in her sleep, and l got in
bed again"
Were you afraid to 60 in. darlingl
81 couldn't 60 in, because the do'
was locked. It always is, you knoy
never go into mammals room; l d
only once, and she said'-and Il
child's soft whisper grew softer stil
and she held her tiny lips closer to n
ear-''she said was never to say an
thing about it-and l promised; so
mustn't even to you. Miss Christi
dear. You don't mind. do you. b
cause I promised?"
mo. darling, I don't. OF course yo
must not tell if you promised" said
But would have given the world
know what the child had seen in tn,
Haidee strange story aroused in n
the old feeling that a mystery Of SON
kind was hanging over the household
Remembered the talk I had had wit
Mr.. Rayner. shortly after my arrivs
in which he told me of the gre
change in his wife, caused by the deaf
of her son, and mentioned the GU
breaks which sometimes caused hi
1.-THE gravest anxiety" had unde
stood then that he feared for his wife
reason. but not having seen any GU
breaks, and in fact having seen vel
little of her except at meals, this nd,
had faded from my mind. No
Haidee's story made me wonder If the
were not an undercurrent in the affai
of the household which had not gu
pected. What if Mr.. Rayner, chez
full as he always seemed, was laborir
under the burden of . wife liable Ut Al
time to break out into wild insanity.
seemed he had for two nights to wrest
in secret with moods of wild wailin
which he at first tried to deal with
gentle remOnstrance and at last had
subdue by sedatives.
And then suggestion came to q
which might explain Sarah's importa
position in the household. Was 81
not the guardian Of Mrs. Rayner, "a,
as she would need in her husbands q
sence II really Of feeble intellectp tn
Mr.. Rayner was anxious to keep Il
scandal of having mad wife a seer
from the world was clear, from the f.
that Mr.. Laurence Reade, who b,
taken peculiar interest in the affai
of the household, had never shown q
least suspicion that this was the cas-
So the secluded life Mrs. Rayner l,
came to be ascribed to the caprice,
some more unworthy motive, of b
husband, while the unfortunate m,
was really not her tyrant, but her vi
tim.
The only other possible explanatit
OF what Haidee had seen was that N
Rayner, kind and sweet-tempered
every one as he always was, and on
wardly gentle and thoughtful to
touching degree toward his cold vii
was really the most designing of hyp
critics. and was putting upon his wit
under the semblance Of devoted affe
ton, a partial restraint which was
purposeless as it was easy for her
break through. This idea was absur
The other supposition, dreadful as
was. was far more probable. It W
strange that these attacks should occ
only at night. thought at first; b
then I ram on, baroI 81 ,l.- 49,, 7 l.